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AOW pension

Who can receive an AOW pension?

If you have lived or worked in the Netherlands, you are likely to have been insured under the AOW scheme. You will then be entitled to an AOW pension when you reach your AOW pension age, regardless of where you live.

Most people will be insured under the AOW scheme automatically

As a rule, people who live or work in the Netherlands are insured under the AOW scheme. For every year a person is insured, they build up rights to 2% of a full AOW pension.

If a person has been insured for the full 50 years preceding their AOW pension age, they will receive a full AOW pension (50 x 2% =100%).

Example
If your AOW pension age is 65 years and 1 month, you can build up rights to an AOW pension between the ages of 15 years and 1 month and 65 years and 1 month. If your AOW pension age is 66, you can build up AOW pension rights between the ages of 16 and 66.

You will not be able to receive an AOW pension if you were born on or after 1 January 1950 and were insured under the AOW scheme for less than 1 year.

Exceptions

If you have lived or worked outside the Netherlands and did not pay voluntary AOW contributions, you are likely to have been uninsured during the period in question, and you may receive a lower AOW pension as a result.

Also, a small number of people who do live in the Netherlands are not insured under the AOW scheme. You can find information about this on the page entitled 'When are you covered by national insurance in the Netherlands?'

You may be able to receive an AIO supplement

If you live in the Netherlands, do not receive a full AOW pension, and have little or no income apart from your AOW pension, you may qualify for a supplement on top of your pension: the AIO supplement.